What is Real?
by serendipitylong
Summary: Laxus is in a mental hospital and is starting to lose his sense of 'real'. He occasionally faints and will dream of adventures in a magical kingdom of Fiore. The events in his 'dream world' strangely seem to mirror events in the 'real' world. However, the 'dream world' is two years behind, what will happen when the 'dream world' catches up with the present?
1. Chapter 1

I don't have a home, I have a mental hospital. I sometimes faint and see people that aren't there. Usually, they are my friends Evergreen, Bixlow, and Freed. I am kinda of old to be having imaginary friends, I know. But, I have lots of imaginary friends and they have complicated personalities, just like they are real. They are fun and one of my favorite things to do is pass out. That sounds funny, huh? However, all the fun comes with a price, one time I fainted in the kitchen, and my right eye hit a burning hot pot. To this day, I have a terrible scar covering my eye that makes me look scary. My name is Laxus Dreyar, and this is all I know.

"Laxus! Time for your medication, come on!" Yori, my favorite nurse, beckoned me to her side.

"Yes, I am coming." I started to walk in her direction.

"You sure took your time, huh? I don't blame you it is beautiful today, and the garden is brimming with life." Yori handed me my pills. "Here you go." She smiled.

I swallowed my pills and looked around. The garden was beautiful, sure, but that only made me angry. No amount of beauty could make up for my sad condition. "It isn't that beautiful." I said gruffly.

"Yeah, yeah. There is a clear blue sky today, it makes the world look transparent." Yori stared at the sky happily.

"That makes no sense." I crossed my arms and looked away. "How can the world be transparent?"

"The sky is clear, as is my mind and I see everything as it is. There are no coverings that the world can use that will hide its true form. That is what I mean." Yori laid down on the grass, her blond hair spread out. Yori wants to be a writer, but her father made her be a nurse. Apparently, it was the only thing that she could find a scholarship for.

"If that is true, I don't think that is a good thing. The world is cruel. I don't even know my own parents." I may say some mean things, but in reality, I loved how Yori always managed to say something deep and thoughtful. I wondered what Yori's imaginary self would be like. Everything went black, and I know I had passed out.


	2. Chapter 2

"Laxus!" Freed called "Come on, you should hear what everyone is saying." I entered the guild and listened quietly to everyone from the second floor.

There were many conversations, but one in particular caught my ear. "I think Erza, Natsu and Gray must be the strongest in the guild!" a blonde haired girl exclaimed. (She had the Fairy Tail mark on her hand, but I didn't recognize her, so she must be new.) The girl went on to blab all about how strong they were. It made me sick to know that such a weakling was in Fairy Tail, she didn't know the value, the price of power.

Not wanting to hear anymore, I stepped out of the shadows and laughed. I hated the newcomer already.

"Laxus," Erza growled. I was in the spotlight and I really loved it.

"Who is that?" the blonde asked. I felt offended, she didn't know?

"Another competitor for strongest in the guild and the master's grandson," Erza stated grimly.

"Competitor, ha! That makes it sound like I have competition! I will inherit this place and I will kick all of you weaklings to the curb!" 'I will always be strongest or else. . .'

I stepped back into the shadows making it appear like I had left the guild.

"He doesn't seem too friendly," the blonde girl whispered to Erza. She didn'tknow I could still hear her.

"Lucy," Erza said. The blonde froze up, and I could smell sweat. 'So her name is Lucy, eh?' "You are completely right." Erza didn't bother being quiet, she didn't care if I could hear her.

After hearing Erza's last four words the blonde relaxed, and realized she could talk normally. "Well, I guess everyone has bad days, I suppose he is forgiven."

'Forgiven! Like I was doing something wrong? I hate the blonde-Lucy.' I walked to the

S-Class Mission Board, and grabbed a random job with a big reward. After I got the paper, I left, for real this time.

* * *

"Laxus? Laxus? Come on, wake up already!" The voice sounded really far away and my head hurt. I opened my eyes slowly, everything was so blurry.

"Yori?" I closed my eyes and opened them again, everything was clear again. Yori's face hovered over mine, her blond hair framing her beautiful face. 'Blonde hair - Lucy! So that is Yori's imaginary self. I feel bad for hating her so much.'

"Yeah, it is me. You know the drill, here is the water. Open," Yori told me. I obediently opened my mouth, and Yori trickled water into my mouth. Yori tucked her bangs behind her ear, and reached for something, my pills, I think. I closed my mouth.

"Next is the pills, do I even need to say it? Open."

"No you don't need to say it." I rolled my eyes at her. I opened my mouth wide. Yori tucked the pills between my teeth and tongue. Somehow she managed to never touch me in the process. I swallowed, and started to get up. Yori immediately pushed me back down into her lap.

"Oh no, you don't," she said. The impact made my head send more pain messages to my brain and I had a hard time not screaming.

"Hey, injured person here! Don't be so rough!" I made a face at Yori.

"Injured people should know better than to get up. Especially if they have gone through the same situation many times, so there." Yori stuck her tongue out at me.

"Very ladylike, blondie," I said.

"Hey, you shouldn't talk, you are blonde yourself!" Yori's watch beeped. Yori looked at it and her eyes widened. She let out a gasp.

"What is it?" I strained my head to see what made it beep, but Yori moved her arm away. "What is it?" I asked again.

"It is . . ."


	3. Chapter 3

"It is what?!" I was starting to get a bit frustrated (and scared).

Yori's expression changed. "It is your lunch time!" Yori exclaimed cheerfully. "That is all."

"Why were you acting so surprised then?!" I wasn't satisfied with Yori's explanation. "You acted like there was something wrong."

"There was." Yori stuck her pink tongue out at me.

"What?! What was it?!" I started really getting mad.

"You are really dense, huh? Come on, it has been five minutes now, you can get up." Yori gently nudged my head.

I got up quickly. "What was wrong?"

"Nothing, that was payback." Yori smiled, and got up.

"Hey!" Yori quickly walked back inside through the glass doors. I followed her, and she walked even faster.

"Come on, Mira is waiting." Yori swiftly navigated through the drab, never-ending maze of hallways. The stupid hallways all look identical. Seriously, what idiot designed this place? Finally, we arrived at the cafe.

"Hi, Laxus!" Natsu waved to me. He is the patient that, I personally believe needs the most help. "This is you." Natsu pointed to his right thumb and wiggled it. "I am king of crackly lightning. I love to wear purple dress shirts," Natsu made his thumb sing, in what I believe was an imitation of me, a rather bad one, too. It was sort of funny, but there is no way I will tell anyone that.

"Are you serious?" I folded my arms. I turned away from him. "Mira! What is on the menu for today?"

The white-haired cook turned away from her creation. "Laxus? Yes, for you I have some very healthy soup. It has lavender, lemon juice, turtle meat, ginger, carrots, and zucchini. Lavender helps relieve stress you know." Mira smiled and clapped her hands excitedly in anticipation.

I made a face. "Mira that sounds gross."

Mira smiled oddly. Then suddenly, she started crying. "I just thought t-that . . . I would help you with healthy and delicious soup!" Mira wailed loudly, I'm sure that the entire cafeteria could hear her.

I felt a cold, threatening presence behind me."I think it seems rather cold in here." I shivered. I turned around to see what was causing this aura.

Erza stared at me menacingly, it was just what I needed, my least favorite nurse mad at me. I honestly don't understand how Erza got to be a nurse, not a mental patient, because she needed treatment. "Laxus! Geez, do you think you are Gray or something?" Erza didn't wait for my answer, she threw me at the nearest table.

Mira wailed, "NOOOOOO!" She started to hit her head on a pot.

I saw Natsu shake his arms like a chicken. "Pretty please no birds and bees, and no ice bastard's knees! Not for lunch today!"

"Hey! What was that?!" Gray yelled at Natsu. He stood up, exposing his bare chest.

Natsu started laughing. "I wouldn't want to eat your knees and I don't think you want me to either. I thought that was a really clever rhyme, too."

"I am not talking about that I heard the words ice bastard in there! You are talking about me!"

"So you finally admit you are an ice bastard!" Natsu had a smirk on his face.

"Arggh, lets fight!" Gray started punching Natsu, and a big fight between the two began.

I got up slowly, carefully. "Hey, this is no way to treat patients! Are you really a nurse?!"

"Erza! He is right!" Yori said bravely. Erza turned to her and she lost it. "I-I mean mean he i-is a p-patient aft-ter all. I . . ." I could see the sweat dripping down Yori in rivers. Yori was very nervous, so it was sort of touching that she stuck up for me.

Erza seemed to calm down. "You are right, I suppose." She turned back to me. "Don't make Mira cry, we don't need another Gray." She glared at me to make sure I got the message. I got it, loud and clear.

"Mira! I was just kidding, I would love to try your soup!"

Mira wiped away her tears, and Erza nodded in a way that was entirely too satisfied for something as dumb as this. Mira started shining and she climbed out of her puddle of tears. She picked up a bowl and handed it to me. "Careful, Laxus. It is heavy." Mira smiled blissfully.

I placed the bowl on the nearest table, no use walking further than necessary. I took the spoon that Yori offered me and it fell to the ground. Everything went black.

* * *

What would I see this time? What would this dream show me? I couldn't wait to see what fun awaited me.

* * *

So sorry for not updating sooner! (Not that anyone cares.)


	4. Chapter 4

Everybody who has read this, favorited, reviewed, or followed, thank you! I even tried my best to update all of my stories in one week. By the way, this was not beta read. My wonderful beta, Himmelsstuermer, has possibly died. When she comes back to life, I will send this to her. Please excuse any errors.

* * *

"Laxus, are you still grumpy?" Evergreen asked. I rolled over, trying to pretend I didn't hear.

"Grumpy, grumpy!" Bixlow's babies chanted.

"Laxus? Are you okay?" Freed looked at me worriedly. He turned to Evergreen and whispered, "Is he awake?" Freed is a terrible whisperer.

"Duh." Evergreen shook her head. "Hey, Laxus! Answer!" She lightly tapped my head.

"Ha, as if!" I stood up and crossed my arms. But in truth, it bothered me a lot. What is the guild coming to? It is chock full with weaklings like Lucy. Jet, Droy, Wakaba, and Macao, all of them are wastes of space. Not only that, but everyone is paying attention to people like Erza, not me. I worked hard for my power, I sacrificed a lot. My father sacrificed a lot. There is really nothing worse than taking power for granted, not even weaklings. I want to eradicate weaklings, and people like her from the guild. Fairy Tail holds lots of fun memories for me, I can't bear to see it shamed.

"Laxus? Laxus?" Freed was staring at me and waving his hand in front of my face.

"Yeah, I told you he was lying." Evergreen nodded smugly.

"Laxus would never lie!" Freed looked horrified.

"Here is the mission," I said gruffly. I reached into my cape, and the mission wasn't there.

"Yeah, way ahead of you." Evergreen looked the paper over. "Sounds easy, and has a low reward. I quote 'Please protect me and my daughter from some rogue mages. They are proving to be most troublesome. Reward: 10,000 Jewel' Sounds like Laxus was _really_ bothered, and grabbed random job."

"Ha ha, remind me to listen to you when you can read minds." I tried to act the part, but it was hard. How was Evergreen so accurate?

"I can." Evergreen looked extremely smug, even more than before.

"What?!" Freed and Bixlow shouted in unison. I only let out a little eep, which was probably covered up by their ruckus.

"Liar," I said calmly. I was sweated under my cape, and thanking the gods that, none of them were dragon slayers. "Anyway, let's get going."

* * *

"Thank you, I can now rest easy knowing mages from the strongest guild will keep us safe." The woman looked very, very happy, like she might cry. I snorted. 'Um, would you like some tea? Cookies?"

I was going to tell her no, but I saw the look on Freeds' face. "Sure," I said reluctantly.

She scurried away. The door creaked, and a little girl with slightly burnt, brown curly hair came in. "Hello? Roni's name is Roni. She is very pleased to meet you. Roni wants you to focus on protecting her mother. Roni's mother wanted Roni to be a strong mage, but Roni is too scared to fight. Roni's mother sacrificed a lot for Roni's power, so this is what Roni must do." Evergreen, Bixlow, and Freed all looked sympathetic. Those idiots! How could they?!

"Look, kid! You say your mom sacrificed a lot. So why are you wasting her sacrifice?! Why are you saying you are scared?! Of what?! Being strong?! You sure aren't scared of those bad mages, so what is wrong?! You are pathetic. You are a waste. You don't deserve to live." At this point my voice was hoarse, and I felt like crying, why was this girl this way? I shook her, then stood upright. It isn't right for someone like me to be on her level. Her talking in third person is really annoying.

She began to cry, and looked away. Seriously? She was crying? The weakling doesn't even deserve the help I gave her, or the protection I will give her. "Roni is pathetic. She doesn't deserve to live. Those bad people are after Roni though! They want to do bad things to mommy, because of Roni. Mommy refused to give Roni to them. So please protect mommy, or teach Roni to fight!" Roni cried loudly. I seriously hate her talking in third person.

"I will protect you like we are getting paid to do, and you get someone else to teach you how to fight." This mission is demeaning enough, but teaching someone how to fight? That is just not happening.

"Okay! We have some chocolate chip cookies, and some lemon honey tea." The woman excitedly scurried back in, and placed the cookies and tea on a table.

"Thank you!" Freed's eyes lit up and he happily dug in.

* * *

"Hand over the girl, or we will kill you," the two mages threatened. Their threat fell on deaf ears, and I laughed. No one threatens the Thunder God Tribe and gets away with it!

"We'll see about that," Evergreen said haughtily. She took off her glasses and stared them in the eyes. Just like that, they were turned to stone. Freed trapped them in some runes.

"That is it?" Roni looked intimidated.

"Ha, of course!" I said proudly.

* * *

"Thanks, here is your reward. Also, I know it is not much, but here is a shirt for you. It was my late husband's." The woman handed over a neatly folded shirt that was black and was made out of sleek, tight fitting material. I didn't bother saying thanks. I grabbed the money and the shirt. I mean, why not? It is a free shirt.

* * *

**For the shirt, imagine the shirt that Laxus wears in the current Grand Magic Games arc.**


	5. Chapter 5

For anyone who is interested, there is a reason why Lucy is the only with her name changed. Yori means trust.

* * *

"Laxus? You awake? Come on, yielding to math homework twice in one day? Your girlfriend broke up with you." What this woman's voice is saying makes no sense.

"Huh?" I slowly opened my eyes, the artificial bright light of the cafeteria blinded me.

"Open the cave," the voice commanded. I opened my mouth. It was immediately flooded with water and I choked. A pill was plopped in carelessly, and I swallowed quickly.

"Are you trying to kill me?!" I opened my eyes. I needed to identify this nurse immediately, she could be Erza or some other dangerous person. When I opened my eyes I saw purple hair. Laki. Oh, fuck!

"No, because the time I spend with you can not be filed away as a memory," Laki said in a monotone voice.

"If you are going to be corny, at least sound serious. Can I get up now?" I jiggled my foot impatiently. The longer I have to spend near her the more danger I am in.

"Corny like a batch of cornflakes. Cereal! Hungry!" Natsu squealed. Only he had that type of logic. Gray looked like he might kill Natsu, but Erza stepped in and gave him a menacing glare.

"Corny rhymes with horny," Gray instructed Natsu. Gray glanced at Erza nervously. She had turned as red as her hair.

"Ahh!" She grabbed a broom out of nowhere, as well as several plastic knives. She chased Gray, and threw the knives at him.

"Sure, you can get up," Laki helped me up, then she turned to a wood carving. Laki pulled a knife out of her skirt. I wanted to scream, that was where my head was only a few moments ago.

"Why were you keeping a knife in your skirt?!" Gray exclaimed. Natsu laughed crazily. Erza nodded approvingly, temporarily stopping her chase. Freed looked like might die of a heart attack. He fell over and Cana sloppily picked him back up, only to drop him. She shrugged, then left him on the floor. She wins the award for the most drunk nurse of the year.

"Does it matter?" Laki asked.

I lost my cool. "Yes!" I yelled at her. "You could have stabbed me!" I started to run away from her, and I fell into a hole with spikes at the bottom of it. I barely missed getting skewered. I looked up, and two purple haired people were staring at me. Virgo and Laki. They have weird obsessions. Virgo likes holes and punishment.. Laki likes wood and torture. (They both like talking weird.) You put them together and you get potentially fatal traps.

"That one was note-worthy don't you think?" Laki said to Virgo.

"Yes, it was very effective in punishing." Virgo left. She has a habit of disappearing. (Yori has a whole sub division of nurses to herself, and they all seem to disappear when Yori doesn't need them. Only Loke and Virgo are seen moving independently from Yori. The entire sub division seems useless. Lyra only sings songs, and only appears once a month, sometimes not even that. Plue only dances, and makes a series of weird noises. Also, he only comes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. That all aside, I am happy that Yori has her sub division, because they all love her, and she loves them. Yori is the only one who understands, and really trusts me.)

"Can I get out now?" I pleaded with Laki.

"No, you can sink for a bit longer, not like anyone cares," Laki said glibly. I heard her chipping away at some wood. I gave up and went back to sleep. It wasn't' t like I had anything better to do anyway.

* * *

Again, my beta is currently unreachable. Sorry for any errors.


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